In this section of Romans, Paul writes about his difficulty in following the law. Whether Paul is describing his pre-Christian experience or Christian experience has been a matter for debate among commentators.
1) Paul reiterates in v. 14 that the law is spiritual, but that "I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin." Wesley comments that this provides an indicator that Paul is speaking of the time when he was totally under the power of sin. Wesley considers the section of Romans that we are covering in this week's study an example of the process of coming to Christ. Calvin states that while the passage shows that the sinful nature itself is controlled by sin, but that here Paul is talking about a voluntary servitude of the Christian.
--Who do you agree with, Wesley or Calvin? Does Paul statement that he is sold as a slave to sin appear consistent with what he has said is pre-Christian experience or post-Christian experience? What is the context in which this passage is written?
2) Paul states that "what I want to do, I do not do, but what I hate I do." (v. 15) In other words, his motivations are good, but he is unable to follow through on them. In acting contrary to the law, Paul understands that the law is good. (v. 16). Calvin states that this is a statement of Paul's struggle with sin as a Christian. We can see this conclusion in Calvin's theology. Since man is totally depraved apart from God, then Paul's statement that he cannot do what he knows is good and wants to do would not make sense in Calvinist theology. In that system, the pre-Christian person is totally depraved and would not have a motivation to do good.
--As a practical matter, do you see this maxim of Paul's at work in your life? If so, does that lend support to the view that this passage refers to current Christian experience?
3) Paul goes on to say that it is no longer he who commits these sins, but the sin living in him and that he is aware that nothing good lives in his sinful nature. (v. 17-18) He then reiterates his maxim that he acts contrary to his good desires, and says that since he really does not want to do these things, it is not he who commits the sin but rather the sin in him. (v. 19-20).
--Calvin states that the "Flesh" is "everything in man, except the sanctification by the Spirit." He goes on to say that the Spirit is the part of our soul that God regenerates when he saves us, but that the evil desires of the flesh remain. Since Calvin states that Paul is describing his current Christian experience, does that mean that God only changes the heart, but that in salvation the flesh (body) is not changed? Manicheeism is a dualistic view of the world in which everything that is mind/spirit is good and of God, while all matter is evil and of the Devil. St. Augustine was a Manichee before becoming an orthodox Christian, and his writing influenced Calvin. Is Calvin's view of regeneration Manicheean?
4) From his experience Paul develops a spiritual law, so to speak, that when he wants to do good, evil is right there with him. This means that although Paul delights in the law "in my inner being" (v. 22), he sees another law at work in his body that wages war against his mind and makes him a prisoner of the law and the sin at work in his fleshly body. (v. 23).
--Wesley, in backing up his view that this passage is a description of the process of coming to God, notes that Paul says here he delights in the law, which is closer to acceptance of God than agreement that the law is good (v. 16). Do you agree with Wesley, or is he making too much of these terms? Did you find that before you became a Christian, you engaged in a process of coming to God, whereby you slowly came to faith? If so, does this back up Wesley's view of the passage?
--Calvin states that this is an example of Christian struggle, quoting Augustine. Do you ever in your Christian experience actively desire to disobey the law? Not merely that you do what you do not want to do, but rather, that you commit sin and want to do it. Is this possible under Calvin's view of the passage?
5) After saying that he is a "prisoner of the law of sin" (v. 23), Paul asks "Who will rescue me from this body of death? (v. 24) He then provides the answer: "Thanks be to God--Through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (v. 25). The passage concludes with Paul reiterating that in his mind, he is a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature, a slave to the law of sin.
--Wesley states that through the struggle with trying to be a moral, but being unable to do it, a person is brought to the point of desperation and looks for rescue. The person's reason and conscience declare for God, but his fleshly desires remain and bring the person to the point of weariness. Does the fact that Paul is writing in the present tense throughout this passage contradict Wesley's argument that Paul is speaking of his past, pre-Christian experience? On the other hand, does Paul's statement that he is a prisoner of sin back Wesley's point up? Do you think Paul would have called the Christian life an imprisonment to sin?
-- When Paul says Christ will rescue him from the body of sin, is he referring to a rescue in this life, or in the life to come?
6) Chapter 8 may provide some answers as to what Paul is talking about. Read ahead and see whether that influences your opinion of the passage. Also, be sure to note what Paul says about how the battle against sin within us is changed in the Christian life. That will be the focus of the next lesson.
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